


What If We Drown In This Sea Of Stars?

by dynataejin



Category: Among Us (Video Game), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Astronauts, Based on an Among Us Game, Captain Kim Namjoon | RM, Established Jung Hoseok | J-Hope/Min Yoongi | Suga, Established Kim Taehyung | V/Park Jimin, Kim Namjoon | RM is So Done, M/M, Park Jimin is Trying His Best (BTS), Park Jimin is a Mess (BTS), The Skeld (Among Us), This Is STUPID, basically very dramatic among us, character death cuz it's among us, no smut for you sinners, soft vmin, sorry for wasting your time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:20:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27172351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dynataejin/pseuds/dynataejin
Summary: "Please don't tell me I heard that right."Namjoon sighs as the technical communications officer repeats his statement from the space centre.One of the men on ship isn't on your side. He is a dangerous man hiding among you. He is an imposter.
Relationships: Jung Hoseok | J-Hope/Min Yoongi | Suga, Kim Taehyung | V/Park Jimin, jinkook but platonic
Comments: 5
Kudos: 14





	1. Chapter 1

Jimin felt small. Very, very small. He felt scared. Beyond the glass, there was just space. Endless space. Forever continuing. Forever expanding. From earth, it may have looked pretty. Even romantic. But to Jimin - it looked terrifying. It looked like a vast abyss. The mouth of one of the dangerous dragons of korean myth, waiting to swallow him whole. Jimin didn't find it beautiful. He found it eerie and uncertain and dark. He felt a tiny bit of regret for coming at all.

Long hands wrapped around Jimin's waist. Jimin uncrossed his arms from his chest and placed them on top of the arms. He leaned into the touch, releasing a breathe he hadn't realised he had been holding. He was grateful. So very grateful. If there was anything making him feel safe in the middle of space, it was the presence of Taehyung. He was the only reason Jimin still remembered why he had come on this journey. He was Jimin's anchor. So that he didn't float away, disappearing into space.

Taehyung hummed against the back of Jimin's neck, making him feel the vibrations in his own body. He stayed like that, back-hugging Jimin and inhaling his scent, for a while. Then he lifted his head from Jimin's neck and positioned his lips next to Jimin's ear.

"Thinking again?"

Jimin gave a small nod.

"What are you thinking? Tell me. I want to listen."

"It's... the same things. What I'm always thinking.."

"Oh so, it's about me then?"

Jimin rolled his eyes, endeared.

"No. I'm not always thinking about you..."

"That's a shame." Taehyung gave Jimin a small squeeze. He moved his fingers a little, making random strokes on Jimin's waist. "You would think that someone with such a nice boyfriend would spend all their time thinking about him..."

Jimin gave him a light smack on his arm. He always knew how to lighten the mood.

"Now tell me."

Jimin remained silent, trying to find words to describe his thoughts. Trying to prevent his words from sounding repetitive. Taehyung waited patiently.

"I was just having those thoughts again. Fear. Uncertainty. The universe, space... it's just so scary," Taehyung gave Jimin another squeeze, nuzzling his neck with his nose, trying to comfort him. "it feels like I'm in the middle of nowhere. I feel... alone." Taehyung paused at that. He stayed till against Jimin for a split second before going back to his comforting motions. "And not alone like lonely. I have you on the ship, there are 5 other guys. Alone like...no one can help me. Like, if I was suffocating due to an oxygen leak, my screams would get lost in the vacuum. No one could come to my aid."

Taehyung rubbed Jimin's sides, trying to comfort him. He came up to his side, turning Jimin to face him. He placed a hand on his cheek, his thumb grazing Jimin's cheekbone. His eyes found their way to Jimin's.

"I'm right here Jimin." Taehyung said, looking deeply into Jimin's eyes, dark as the space right outside the panel. His tone was reassuring. 

Jimin nodded.

"I know." 

Taehyung pulled Jimin closer, touching foreheads. His hand was still on Jimin's cheek, feeling the smooth skin. They shared the same air, the same space. Jimin's breaths slowed down, matching with Taehyung's. He hadn't realised how panicked he was until he felt his heartrate go down. Until Taehyung got rid of the fear clawing at his gut.

"That's why I'm still here. Because you are. Without you... I would've drowned."

Jimin was thankful. So very thankful. For Taehyung.

❼❼❼❼❼❼❼

"Fold up your sleeves."

"No it's fine they'll stay up."

"Shoving them upto your elbow will only keep them away for 10 seconds. Come here, let me roll them up for you."

Hesitant, but still obedient, Jungkook held his arms out for his hyung. Seokjin neatly folded up the sleeves of the younger's oversized shirt. When they were rolled up, a safe distance away from his fingers, Seokjin gestured to the bench for Jungkook to take a seat. He cutely flopped down on the hard bench and splayed his fingers out on the table. He wiggled them excitedly.

Seokjin took a seat beside him, a small bottle in his hand. He shook it thoroughly, making a clicking sound. As he unscrewed the cap, a pungent smell flew to his nostrils. He didn't know if he loved it or hated it. He took out the brush and held it against the mouth of the bottle, draining off the excess nail polish. Then he carefully ran the brush down the nail of Jungkook's index finger. His nail transitioned from its normal pale pink to shiny black. 

"You need to stay still," Jin said, trying not to paint on Jungkook's skin as he moved suddenly.

"Sorry, my hair is getting in my eyes."

"That's why i told you to tie it up before we started!"

"I couldn't find a hair-tie! It's fine just keep going."

Despite the constant bickering, Seokjin was done quickly. Soon, Jungkook's neat, short nails were painted all black. He wiggled his fingers in the air, checking out the 10 black squares that adorned his fingers.

"Thanks hyung." Jungkook said, moving forward to give his hyung a hug. Seokjin moved away quickly.

"Yah! you're going to get the nail polish on my T-shirt! It's still wet!"

"It's fine, I'll be careful."

Jungkook moved forward again, his nails facing away from Jin's shirt. Jin still tried to escape but not too hard. 

"Okay now buy me a cider."

The two young men get up from the cafeteria table they were sitting at and walked to the small vending machine. 

"Which one do you want hyung? Don't choose anything too expensive." Jungkook warned, feigning concern.

"Then I'll choose this one." Seokjin said, pointing towards the orange flavoured drink.

"Hyung... you're going to make me go broke." Jungkook said, sighing. He punched in the code for the orange drink. Then he pretended to fish out a 1000 won bank note and insert it into a non-existent money slit.

Seokjin punched him in the shoulder lightly, picking up the drink from the vending machine. 

"I've literally fed you all your life! You can't even punch the code for a drink that the space centre won't even charge us for?"

They walked out of the cafeteria laughing, Jungkook admiring his newly painted nails and Jin shaking his orange drink.

❼❼❼❼❼❼❼

Hoseok's hand was soft. Yoongi liked holding it. On earth, when his hands were always too cold, Hoseok's would be just warm enough. On this spaceship, they were just what he needed. He wasn't doing anything important, just on asteroid duty, but Hoseok was there to give him company nonetheless.

"That one kinda looks like a Bungeoppang!" he said, pointing towards a rock floating in space.

Yoongi just smiled. He didn't see it, but he loved that Hobi could think of such things. 

"Do you have to shoot it?" he asked, concerned.

"Not really. Not unless it gets too close." 

They sat in silence. Well, not really silence, since Hobi knew how to fill it will random words and sounds, but Yoongi didn't mind. It was a special silence Yoongi had come to love. Hobi could go on for hours, talking about anything and everything, and Yoongi wouldn't get tired. He loved that Hoseok didn't expect him to answer. He just wanted him to listen. Yoongi wouldn't rather do anything else.

❼❼❼❼❼❼❼

Being the captain wasn't easy. He wasn't the oldest on board, but he had to take care of a lot of things. He was responsible for the whole ship, the lives of the people on board, the safety of all the equipment and the entire mission. As the captain, he had to sort out fights (mostly between Jin and Jungkook), make decisions, and make sure they went back to earth with actual results.

Oh and he had to deal with whatever this shit was.

"Please don't tell me I heard that right."

Namjoon sighs as the technical communications officer repeats his statement from the space centre. 

_One of the men on ship isn't on your side. He is a dangerous man hiding among you. He is an imposter._

Namjoon rubbed at his temples. Why did this have to happen to his ship? All he wanted was for things to go smoothly. For his first mission as captain to go well, to go normally. Was it too much to ask? He focused back on what the voice from the speaker was saying.

_Captain Kim are you listening?_

"Yes. Umm, No. Can you say that again? Something about an imposter?"

 _There's a danger on board. Sources say one of the men onboard has... wrong intentions. There are talks about, a hijack._

_Hijack_. This is bad. Really _bad_.

"How am I supposed to deal with this? Any information about the man?"

_For now, all we know that NK government has a man on the spaceship. No information about who. You should just look out for suspicious behaviour and let your crew know._

"Okay. Is that all?"

_Yes. That's all for now Captain._

"Thank you."

_Come back safe._

And with that, the radio fizzled into silence. Namjoon sighed. He lowered his head into his hands. After a few moments of silence, he got up and left the comm room. He should go tell the others.

❼❼❼❼❼❼❼

"So why did you call us here?" Hoseok inquired.

"Just wait a little, let everyone get here. I'll tell you all in a second." Namjoon replied. Hoseok could sense he was trying really hard to sound calm.

Jimin walked in with Taehyung in tow. They stood around the table in a circle, with the emergency meeting button in the center.

Jin walked in from Admin and stood beside Yoongi.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Where's Jungkook?" Namjoon replied.

"I don't know. He might be in nav?"

Just then, Jungkook jogs into the room, messy hair flopping around.

"I'm here. What is it?"

They all look towards their captain, waiting for news. It wasn't like Namjoon to call meetings. If he had anything to say, he would say it during dinner, or just tell one of them to spread the news. The fact that he needed to call an emergency meeting meant something big. Namjoon cleared his throat and tried to speak as calmly as possible.

"I just spoke with an officer from the space centre and I've got some... news."

Hoseok didn't like this. Something was definitely wrong. His hand instinctively found Yoongi's. He gave it a squeeze.

"I want you guys to listen carefully. And don't panic." he looked at Jimin when he said the last sentence.

Jimin was already panicking though. Taehyung put his hand on the back of Jimin's neck and massaged it.

"There is one person on this ship that... has questionable intentions. He is possibly working with the NK government as far as we know. Earth told us to keep an eye out for any suspicious behaviour and to return back. The mission is aborted."

The crewmates looked at one another. It wasn't something they were expecting to hear. Jungkook seemed like he wanted to protest. The 23-year-old opened his mouth but Namjoon cut him off.

"I know Jungkook. I'm sorry. I... I really wish that you didn't have to go back on your first mission but... circumstances. I'm sorry guys, I'm just telling you what I've been told."

"It's fine Namjoon. You don't have to apologise. Our safety is more important. Right Jungkook?" Jin looked at Jungkook, who was now pouting.

"Yeah. It is." he understood, but was still disappointed. 

Hoseok looked at his boyfriend. Yoongi's expression seemed unreadable. What was he thinking?

"So what do we do now?" he spoke for the first time in the meeting.

"We're going to go back so follow the procedures for return. I have the tasks noted on my screen. You guys can split them among yourselves right?" Namjoon looked pointedly towards the maknaes.

Jungkook, Jimin and Taehyung nod at the same time and Namjoon goes out of the room to fetch his screen.

❼❼❼❼❼❼❼

"Jungkoooook I don't want to refuel the engines. The gallon is really heavyyy..." Jimin batted his eyelashes, trying to convince the younger.

"I don't wanna do it, the container is oily and it's a hassle..." Jungkook countered.

Namjoon wasn't having any of this. They had been at it for 10 minutes, bickering over some task or the other. Namjoon leaned forward on the table and pressed the emergency meeting button. A loud beep sounded through the ship, putting the crewmates' quarrel to a pause. They all looked at Namjoon.

"Look, I'm just going to divide your tasks randomly. I already have them noted in my screen. I'll tell the AI to divide them into 7 and I'll send them to your screens. Try to finish your tasks without causing any more trouble." Jungkook and Jimin looked at each other, silently telling each other _This is your fault._

"Now, before I let you guys get back to your work, let me tell you this. We don't know who the imposter is..." Namjoon looked at each of his crewmates in turn - Jimin with Taehyung's arm around his shoulder, Yoongi with his hand held by Hoseok's under the table, out of sight, Jungkook listening to him with eyes wide and Jin trying to look calm for his dongsaengs. How could one of these people be a danger? How could he suspect any of them? He really didn't know how things were going to turn out. "... so suspect everyone." Namjoon feels a small discomfort in his stomach as Hoseok looks at Yoongi, feigning accusation. "By that I don't mean to stop trusting your friends, I just mean be careful. And if you notice anything suspicious, or just need any help, call meetings. We can do this yeah?" He looked at his crewmates faces carefully. He felt bad for being the cause of such, scared, worried and sad faces.

"Yah! Why are you guys so gloomy? This isn't a funeral! We can do this! If we do our tasks properly, we'll be just fine." Hoseok chimed. Namjoon was glad for the help.

"Yeah guys. Hwaiting!" Jin exclaimed, waiting for the rest to repeat after him.

The 7 guys cheered _Hwaiting!!_ and the meeting split up. Namjoon and Hobi walked towards Nav, followed by Jungkook a little behind them. Jimin and Taehyung walked to Admin. Yoongi went to Weapons and Seokjin walked off to Medbay.

"Thanks for the help back there." Namjoon expressed his gratitude to Hoseok.

"Ahh, don't mention it." Hobi smiled, small dimples appearing on his cheeks.

"How are you so calm?" Namjoon was genuinely curious. 

Hoseok sighed. "Not really calm, just... trying to stay positive. If I started freaking out like Jungkook, how do you think the others would react?"

Namjoon understood the feeling. Too well. He had to stay composed for his crew, no matter how stressed or worried he was. He was happy that there was someone else with him, staying positive for the rest. He gave Hoseok a grateful smile. He really was everyone's hope.

❼❼❼❼❼❼❼

Seokjin had his white coat and gloves on. He carefully put in the samples into the inspection machine, and punched in the commands. Then he had a short wait till he could separate the odd sample. He sat on one of the beds and for some reason, his mind wandered to life on earth, before the mission.

> Jungkook was so young, Seokjin doubted he was old enough to even be inside this building. He was literally a child, doe eyes wide and curious. He looked around, eyes absorbing all they could from their surroundings. Seokjin was curious so he walked up to the teenager.
> 
> "Who are you here with?" Jin asked, looking around for an adult.
> 
> 'I'm...here on my own.." He replied quietly.
> 
> Jin's eyes widened with shock. He didn't have an adult with him?
> 
> "Well, umm, who are you here to see?"
> 
> "I don't really... know."
> 
> "Are you lost?" Jin was getting worried.
> 
> "No... I'm here for... for an orientation?" he answered, slowly getting a bit more confident.
> 
> "Orientation.... aren't you too young to be here?"
> 
> He didn't get an answer, because an older Officer showed up.
> 
> "Welcome! You must be Jungkook?" 
> 
> The kid nodded eagerly. Seokjin bowed in greeting to his senior.
> 
> "Seokjin, this is Jungkook. He's only 16 but he's extremely smart. A prodigy I've heard! He's going to start training here." the senior officer supplied.
> 
> Seokjin raised a brow, impressed. The boy looked down, blushing at the praise. Jin had an urge to protect him.
> 
> "Let me show you around. Let's see just how smart you are." the officer put an arm around the boy's shoulder and guided him forward. He gestured towards Seokjin to come along.
> 
> Soon, Seokjin learnt that no matter how small he looked, Jungkook was in no way unequal to the intelligence of older candidates. The senior officer asked him quite a few questions and the teenager answered them all very well, occasionally adding in extra information. He seemed to know a lot about the work of a captain, effortlessly talking about space navigation as if he had already led dozens of space missions.
> 
> The final stop to the tour was the dorm room. Jungkook looked happy with his room. Before the two seniors left him alone, Jungkook had one final question.
> 
> "Where's your dorm hyung-nim?"

Jungkook and Seokjin had stuck together since. He had seen the boy grow from the curious, wide-eyed and shy 16-year-old he once was, to the confident, strong and charismatic 23-year-old he was now. When they first met, Seokjin could pick him up easily. Now Jungkook, with his 8 pack and insane muscles, could lift his hyung without batting an eye. Seokjin had practically raised the boy and his love for him was immense. The announcement about the imposter really threw Jin off. He sat on the medical bed for more than a few minutes, going through memories of him and Jungkook, his samples completely forgotten. He wouldn't survive it if anything happened to Jungkook.

❼❼❼❼❼❼❼

Yoongi's tasks were all too far apart. It would've been so much better if the tasks were just grouped by area and each crewmember was assigned one area. Yoongi didn't mind the work. He wasn't unfamiliar to a lot of work. He spent more than 11 hours on asteroid duty. He often didn't sleep, worried that his sleep could result in danger for his crewmates. He just believed that it's too much of a hassle to walk around the whole ship to do 4 tasks. He had to fix two wire panels (one in weapons, one in storage), clean the O2 filter, direct electricity to Nav and open the Manifolds near the Reactor. The stupid AI was really going to make him make rounds of the whole spacecraft...

Yoongi started with his task in Weapons. The panel had a bunch of torn wires, tangled into a mad mess. He didn't mind. He liked things that challenge him. He could spend hours on this, slowly making progress, because in the end, the reward would be sweet. Yoongi found the feeling almost therapeutic, when something finally clicks, when things fit like puzzle pieces, when hours of work result in something satisfactory. Until he was satisfied with the result, he would be restless.

It didn't take him as long as he thought it would. The wires untangled after mediocre effort and within 40 minutes, Yoongi was taping together the last torn wire. He closed the panel shut and breathed out. He cracked his knuckles and walked towards his next task. He kind of wished he bumped into Hobi on the way.

❼❼❼❼❼❼❼

The AI seemed to know how to sort things because in the end, he was the one who had to refuel the engines. He now understood why the boys were fighting over it. The oily container wasn't very pleasant to touch and once it was full, it was slippery and heavy. Not a good combination. He lifted the gallon and started walking towards the lower engine. On his way, his empty mind quickly flooded with all types of thoughts. Most of them were about the imposter. He wondered how much they knew about the imposter, how they found out about his presence and if there was any way the crewmates could identify him. His thoughts quickly turned into flashes of worst case scenarios. He would be lying if he said he wasn't a little scared.

Before he could spiral and have a full on panic attack, he changed the tracks of his train of thought. He thought of Jimin instead. As if by miracle, soon his cute boyfriend was standing beside him, chattering while he refuelled the upper engine. When he was done, he wanted to spend some time with Jimin but Jimin had some other task so he hugged him and parted ways. Taehyung sighed and headed in the opposite direction. He had tasks to do too. 

❼❼❼❼❼❼❼

Jungkook wasn't too scared. Yes the news of the imposter had shocked him. It shocked everyone. But he wasn't scared for his life. He was pretty sure he could take the bastard in a fight. He _did_ have a pretty impressive record for kill count in Overwatch. Some of the skills were bound to carry over to real life. And even if he couldn't fight the guy, he was outnumbered. There were 6 guys against 1. The guy didn't stand a chance.

Jungkook was just a little upset that his first mission had to be cut short cuz of the trouble. He was so excited, had such high hopes for his first mission. The dipshit really chose the perfect time to sneak onto a national space mission. Reluctantly, Jungkook sat in his seat of co-pilot and charted the court of their return. It wasn't too hard. He just had to put in the the coordinates, timings and air-thrust increases into the system. The system would offer computer-generated paths and he would have to alter them to perfection. He did it well, despite the bad mood he was in. He couldn't think how this day could get worse. It was a shame that he couldn't see just how the day progressed till the end...

He felt the coolness of the metal first. Even before the pain, the bleeding, the urge to scream, he felt how cool the blade of the knife was. It had been driven into his back when he stood up to flick some switches on the ceiling of the navigation room. He didn't have time to plan out a strategy, to fight off his attacker, to dodge his impending death. It happened quick and fast. In one moment, he was feeling the cold of the metal and in the second it was twisting inside him. The pain was inexplicable. He looked at the blood that flowed down the his front and almost passed out. He wanted to scream as his life seeped out of him but the killer had a hand over his mouth. He was plopped back on his seat and the killer covered his mouth till his last breath escaped out of him. Before he gave in to the temptation of closing his eyes two things crossed his mind. First Jin hyung. And second that Overwatch skills _did not_ carry over to real life...


	2. Chapter 2

Seokjin missed Jungkook. His not so little trip down memory lane had made him emotional and craving the younger's company. He took off his protective gear and exited Medbay, planning to go over to Navigation. On his way, he passed the cafeteria and decided to take a banana milk from the vending machine. When he pressed the button to choose the drink, he remembered to insert a fake bank note into a fake slit, the way he and Jungkook always did. 

Banana milk acquired, Seokjin was back on his way to the other side of the ship. There was a little spring in his step, his muscles getting excited at the idea of meeting his favourite companion. He craned his neck into Weapons when he passed it, finding it empty. Yoongi must be with Hoseok then. They really were a cute pair. He smiles a little, thinking of how well the two guys complement each other - Yoongi with his feigned disinterest in just about everything except Hoseok and Hoseok with his sunshiniest smiles reserved just for Yoongi. All signs of a smile died on Seokjin's lips when he finally reached the door to Navigation. 

As soon as he entered, he felt an unfamiliar silence in the air. It was unusual for the Nav room to be so quiet, Jungkook always speaking to someone or muttering to himself. Jungkook wasn't the type to sit still in front of his control panel and stare off into space. Seokjin made a sound in his throat, expecting Jungkook to react. When all he got in reply was air, Seokjin felt something in his stomach drop. He wasn't too far from panic. He walked straight up to the seat, held onto its side with his hands and turned it.

Seokjin desperately wanted to blink. He wanted to close his eyes 5, 6, 7, 8 - as many times as needed so that the image in front of him would disappear. Instead he stared with eyes wide. He stared because he couldn't find it in himself to do anything else. He couldn't rip his eyes away from the image straight from his worst nightmare. It was Jungkook, _his little Jungkookie,_ lying limp in his seat, his eyes closed and a dark, red, scary stain on his chest. He didn't need to touch it to know what it was.

It took Jin several moments to let his emotions catch up to him. To absorb the information that was being presented to him. But when it did hit him, it hit him hard. He covered his mouth with a large hand to muffle the broken sob that escaped him. He fell to his knees, his free hand landing on Jungkook's shoulder. Tears stung at his eyes as he let his hand touch his face, caress his _cold_ cheeks and another sob came out of him. He took his hand away from his mouth, now clutching Jungkook with both his arms, hoping like a fool that shaking him will save him. When he's done trying to shake him, Jin finally musters up the courage to let one of his hands touch the blood on his shirt. When he felt the cold wet liquid on his fingers, a sound of utter distress left him and he didn't hold back. He sounded absolutely horrible as sobs wracked him body, as he cried uncontrollably, his head now on Jungkook's lifeless lap.

He cried for a long time, holding on to Jungkook so he didn't lose him further. He realised that his tears were wetting the fabric under his face but he couldn't bring himself to care at that moment. His thoughts spiralled, hundreds of images of Jungkook flashing through his mind and making him cry harder. He thought about the Jungkook whose eyes sparkled brighter than any galaxy, the Jungkook whose smile was the most endearing thing Jin had the fortune of seeing, the Jungkook who never let his hyung get a moment of peace and quiet. He cried helplessly as he recalled Jungkook's distinct laugh, the way he would scrunch his nose sometimes, how he would fake laugh at Jin's jokes just because he was a good kid. Jin cried because his stupid hyung couldn't save him.

When Jin ran out of tears, he still laid on Jungkook's lap, unable to pull himself away. He wanted his Jungkookie back. He stayed there, the cloth under his face wet from his own tears. When he tired out, and fatigue set in, he gave in to sleep. He willingly closed his eyes and let the world go black, in hopes that he would see his Jungkook beyond the darkness.

❻❻❻❻❻❻

Hoseok walked into the Reactor room with a foldable chair in his hands. He unfolded it and placed it down softly, positioning it in front of the Reactor. The Reactor always took a while to start up, so he figured he would be better off doing it sitting down. He sat down and cracked his knuckles. Then he leaned forward and started to work on the Reactor Control Panel.

He was barely 10 minutes into his task, when he heard soft footsteps nearby. He wasn't startled though. Hoseok could recognise those soft, shuffling footsteps anywhere. He kept his eyes on the control panel. Soon enough, he saw Yoongi's small figure out the corner of his eye, working on the Manifolds. Hoseok didn't say anything, wanting to keep silent to be able to appreciate the low tune that Yoongi was humming. A small smile appeared on Hoseok's face, recognising the tune as a song the two of them used to frequently listen to back on Earth.

Hoseok was halfway done with his work, when Yoongi seemed to be done with the Manifolds. He made a show of looking around and then started speaking comically loud, obviously trying to get Hoseok's attention.

"Ahh I'm so tired, I need to sit down and take a break." he was intentionally being so dramatic. He loved it when Yoongi was like this.

"Where should I sit..." Yoongi said to no one in particular. Hoseok struggled to keep a straight face, as if he wasn't listening to any of Yoongi's words. He continued to do his work. If he messed up one step, he would have to start over again.

A second later, Hoseok finds Yoongi seated on his right thigh, sitting with his legs crossed as if he was merely sitting on a chair. It was hard for Hoseok to focus like this, Yoongi being the cutest distraction, but he kept his eyes on his work. Hoseok had a sudden urge to cuddle with Yoongi, to nuzzle against his neck and just forget about the task. Instead, he spoke up, hoping to tease Yoongi a little.

"Can you get up, I might be getting a cramp." He said, feigning annoyance.

Yoongi just shrugged. A moment later, he was getting off, only to walk around the back of Hoseok's chair and sit on his left thigh. Hoseok smiled at that. 

"Well then, you're going to be thrilled when my facial timer buzzes." 

Yoongi shrugged again. Hoseok tried to finish his work fast. He noticed that Yoongi was looking at the control panel too, waiting for the wretched thing to start up the reactor already. His pink lips were forming the smallest, faintest pout. A few more minutes and Hoseok was done. He sighed and leaned back in his chair, relaxing. Yoongi turned towards him and made grabby hands, calling him closer. Hoseok was happy to oblige. He sat upright and pulled Yoongi closer.

Yoongi shifted a little, throwing a leg over Hoseok so that he was now completely on his lap, a leg on each side of his thighs. He wrapped his arms around Hoseok's neck. Hoseok booped his button nose with the tip of his own.

"Missed me?"

Yoongi hummed in reply.

"Me too." Hoseok said with a smile, placing his slender fingers on Yoongi's waist. 

Yoongi pulled Hoseok closer, their faces now mere centimetres away. He placed a soft peck on Hoseok's lips and smiled against them. Then his small fingers were roaming into his black hair and he was angling his head, going in for a deeper kiss.

Their kiss was slow and unnaturally sweet, for a kiss that was all tongue, teeth and saliva. Their kiss was hot and wet but there wasn't any hurry, any urgency. Hoseok wanted to stay like this forever, to have Yoongi so close to him, to be lost in all that was Yoongi. They kissed lazily for a while, breaking away slowly only for air or to smile at each other. Hoseok felt like time flowed like honey, whenever he was with Yoongi. Time seemed to slow down, as if struggling to flow through the thick liquid. Everything else was a haze, the only clear thing in Hoseok's vision being Yoongi and his cute face. 

Yoongi then rested his head in the junction between Hoseok's neck and shoulder. He nuzzled against his neck, almost making Hoseok coo at his likeness to a kitten. Hoseok closed his eyes, wanting to fall asleep like this, Yoongi in his arms. It was very tempting to give in to the pull of sleep when he was in such comfort, but the moment was interrupted by the loud beeping of the emergency meeting alarm. Hoseok's eyes widened a bit in panic, hoping nothing serious happened, especially after the announcement of the imposter. He rubbed at Yoongi's back. They should really get going.

❻❻❻❻❻❻

As Jimin and Taehyung walked up to the table, Namjoon felt dread sink deeper into his stomach. He didn't want to say the words. Now that all of them were here (no not _all_ of them) he had to speak up, let his crewmates know the reason for this emergency meeting. But his tongue wouldn't move, feeling limp and heavy in his own mouth. It took him a great deal of effort to get words out.

"Jungkook-" His voice broke off. He cleared his throat and tried again, trying very hard to keep his voice steady so as to not worry his crew members. "Jungkook was found," he swallowed hard, "d-dead in Navigation." He looked straight down at the red button at the centre of the table, knowing that he wouldn't be able to look at any of the men onboard. He heard a small gasp which he recognised as Jimin's. Out the corner of his eyes, he saw Hoseok grip Yoongi's hand and squeeze. Namjoon wished someone would hold his hand so he could get through this without breaking down. 

Namjoon cleared his throat again and looked up. He was the captain. He had to be strong on his own. He looked at each of his crew members in turn, studying their reactions. Jimin was leaning onto a grim looking Taehyung, his hand clutching onto Taehyung's shirt like an anchor. Yoongi looked downright sad and Hoseok was trying to keep a neutral face. And then there was Jin, standing like a shell of a person, face expressionless and eyes distant. Namjoon's mind briefly went back to what he had seen when he walked into Nav.

Jin lying unconscious on Jungkook's lifeless body, his face looking utterly distressed, Jungkook's pants wet with tears and his shirt red with blood. Namjoon had wanted to cry. The image was a horror, something he never wanted to see. It clawed at his heart, threatening to rip it into shreds. His knees threatened to give out, and he wanted to shake Jungkook out of his lifeless sleep. Instead he took a deep breath and shook Jin awake. It was no use. He refused to speak, to listen, to cooperate. He was lost, looking off into the distance and very obviously not being able to comprehend anything right now. He seemed to be in shock, and Namjoon felt his heart break even further. Jin had lost his closest friend. Of course he needed time to recover. 

He needed to let the others know, so he took Jin by the arm and started walking out. Jin followed, but like a lifeless person being dragged. Namjoon struggled to stay strong, seeing their eldest in such a state. When he pushed the red button, he secretly hoped that the crew members didn't come, so that he didn't have to utter the words.

"Did you see who did it?"

Jimin's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"No. Jungkook was found with Jin hyung sleeping on top of his- dead body." He said as matter-of-factly as he could.

A few moments of silence passed. Hoseok finally spoke up.

"Where's... his body? Did you uh.. do? anything?"

Namjoon could only manage to shake his head. He wasn't even able to touch Jungkook's body. What could he do? 

The Yoongi walked around Hoseok and put a hand on Jin's shoulder. The two eldest had a unique bond and they knew how to comfort each other when others couldn't. Jin didn't respond, still not able to process things. Yoongi gave him a small hug and told him to stay strong, although Namjoon doubted Jin was listening.

"Do you have any instructions? What do we do now?" Taehyung asked, eyes wide like he was now worried. 

Namjoon honestly, did not know. There was in imposter among them for sure, someone who was a danger to the rest of the crewmates. They had to be very careful. But how? There weren't any clues, any tells, anything to differentiate the man from their friends. Namjoon was truly at a loss. The best thing they could do was just try to stay alive till they got to Earth.

"No, our plan still remains the same. Do your tasks, stay careful, and call meetings if you see anything suspicious. As fast as we all get to Earth, the better. Everyone try to stay vigilant. We can't let this one man ruin all our lives. We still outnumber him."

Even though they were all a bit shaken, all the crewmates cheered 'Hwaiting!' weakly (except Jin) and went their separate ways. Namjoon prayed to all the Gods (if believing in them would help him out now in the middle of space, he was going to do it) that he didn't lose anymore crewmates. He didn't think he would be able to handle it. 

❻❻❻❻❻❻

"What do we do with - him?" 

Namjoon shrugged. Yoongi hadn't expected Namjoon to really know. He asked because he thought maybe he had thought of something. No matter how much you train, books can't teach you how to deal with the dead body of a beloved donsaeng. Yoongi reached out a hand and rubbed the small of Namjoon's back. He could almost see the struggle inside him, the young man trying to wear a mask of strength just for his crewmates, when he was going through exactly what the others were. He was close to Jungkook too.

"Joon-ah. You can talk to me."

He felt Namjoon relax against his hand just a fraction. Yoongi wanted Namjoon to be able to talk openly to him, without worrying about Yoongi's feelings. Yoongi had an incredible amount of respect for Namjoon. He had so many responsibilities, had become the captain for a National space mission at such an early age. He always kept his act together so well just for the sake of his crew members. It was definitely a lot of pressure. He wanted him to be able to be relaxed around him.

"I'm just so... _scared."_ He said, almost whispering the word like saying it out loud would amplify the feeling. Yoongi's eyes softened and he wanted to give Namjoon a hug. He was just a young man, younger than Yoongi. Of course he would feel scared.

Yoongi rubbed his back a bit more and motioned towards the floor. They sat cross legged and Yoongi asked Namjoon to relax, to tell him anything.

"I just feel like... as the captain I'm responsible for the whole ship and- and it's my fault somehow that there's an imposter in here.. Even though, I'm not linked to it at all, i don't know it just feels like an incompetency on my part and.. i want to stay st-strong and fix it, help us get back on earth safely but how- what-" Namjoon swallowed and took a deep breath, forgetting to breathe when he was talking. "how am I supposed to stay all calm and composed when a man on my ship is- when my _friend_ is.." His lower lip wobbled and Yoongi felt his heart break at the sight. "Jungkookie, who used to talk about Overwatch while being on Nav duty and had perfect assumption scores for radar and used to smile so big when I let him sit in my chair, he's dead and- and what type of stupid captain am I if i couldn't save him... I just feel so useless and scared... what if the imposter kills all- all of you and then i'll be alone and it'll be all my-"

Yoongi pulled Namjoon in for a hug, not letting him complete his sentence. He let Namjoon cry into his shoulder, all the while rubbing comfortingly on his back. He needed to cry, to let it out, to be able to process, to mourn. They sat there for a while, even when Namjoon felt a little better, talking about something as trivial as refuelling the engines just to take their mind off things. A little while later Yoongi brought up Jungkook's body again and they decided that they would all watch it get ejected into space. That would be his 'burial'.

❻❻❻❻❻❻

Taehyung saw Namjoon and Yoongi walk towards them with Jungkook's body between them. They were holding him as if he was merely drunk and passed out, not a dead body. Taehyung felt terrible looking at Jungkook's pale, lifeless face but he couldn't bring himself to look anywhere else. He didn't have the guts to look at his shirt covered in blood or the hole in his chest, so he looked at his face. 

"Is everyone here?" Namjoon asked, an arm around Jungkook's waist and a limp arm over his own shoulder.

"Yes." Hoseok replied, himself being in a similar situation, holding on to Jin.

"We have gathered here to... to set Jungkook free. He was a great navigator and since his biggest dream was to go to space, we shall let h-" Namjoon clears his throat. "him fulfill his dream, even beyond death." Namjoon tilted his head down immediately, as if hiding tears. Taehyung understood, he himself felt a burning lump in his throat and tears threatening to spill over any moment. Namjoon recovered quickly though, resuming his speech. "Would any of you like to say anything?"

Taehyung felt Jimin move a little beside him. He turned his head to see his eyes red with unshed tears. Taehyung put a hand on the small of his back, urging him to speak up.

"I- uh... wanted to-" he said, struggling to keep his voice stable.

Yoongi nodded on behalf of Namjoon who was looking out into space through the glass.

"Jungkook-ah, was a good friend, and an amazing dongsaeng. Even though...he- he called me Jimin-ssi sometimes," a singular tear escaped from his eye and Jimin quickly wiped it away. "and called me short- aha" Jimin laughed a little at the memory, not because it's funny but because he was trying not to cry. Taehyung knews he was really sad, he was closer to Jungkook than Taehyung was. "he was a brat a lot of the time but... but it was all in good spirit. He was an amazing kid and I'll miss you Jung-Jungkook-ssi" Jimin let his tears flow now, knowing he wasn't going to be able to stop them. "I wish I coul- could've saved you. You... You deserved a better chance than at the hands of some disgusting murderer."

Taehyung recoils a little at the venom in Jimin's voice when he says the last few words. He recovers quickly though, pulling him into a side hug and rubbing at his arm. His anger was justified. When Hoseok looked at Jimin with eyes full of concern, Taehyung shook his head a little in assurance. He'll be fine. 

"Jungkook was such a good kid and an even better pilot. I've heard Namjoon talk about his skills plenty of times and it really was an honour to be on a ship piloted by such an amazing pilot. You will be missed Jungkook. We lost a very valuable person." Hoseok said. He kept his voice steady most of the time, but Taehyung could make out the tiny moments when his voice wavered.

Namjoon seemed to have collected himself by the time Hoseok was done speaking because he was now looking at the rest of them to see if anyone else wanted to say anything. When no one else spoke up, Namjoon cleared his throat and started talking.

"I had the fortune of being able to co-pilot this ship with Jungkook and, he really was an amazing guy. He was extremely good at his job and had the coolest Overwatch skills. I remember just yesterday, we were sitting in Nav together when he started giving me tips. He really was the brightest student and just the most talented and sweetest person i know. I'll miss him. This ship will miss him." 

He looked around again, eyes lingering on Jin for a few seconds.

"If any of you want to um- touch him or look at him for the- uh last time.."

No one moved. Hoseok rubbed Jin's back but Jin didn't show any reaction, just looking on with unfocused eyes.

Namjoon looked over at Yoongi and Yoongi gave him a small nod. The two of them started walking towards the ejection hatch. Namjoon pulled down his helmet, encouraging everyone else to do the same. They were all in their pressurised suits and wearing special boots to help them stay upright. Jungkook was just wearing his suit, but not the boots, as it would be more difficult to carry him if he was. Yoongi used his free hand to pull down a switch and the hatch opened with a _woosh._ Immediately Jungkook's body slumped forward, but didn't get too far, since the two men were holding on to him. A small noise came from behind them and they both whipped their head behind.

It had come from Jin. It was a strange, aborted sound, something that he probably had made unintentionally. Because when the whole crew waited for him to continue, he just stared at Jungkook's back. 

Namjoon and Yoongi looked back ahead and prepared themselves for what they had to do. They took a moment, before releasing Jungkook's body, all eyes glued on it. The body very slowly floated out of the ship, the lack of gravity making him seem weightless. He travelled further and further away, until he was a small spec against the black of space. Taehyung felt tears sting his eyes as Jimin's grip on him tightened. This was extremely painful for everyone. Eventually, Jungkook's body floated out of sight, now floating somewhere among the stars. Namjoon closed the hatch and turned on the air regulator. Then he bowed to his crew and made his way back, probably to Nav. They all needed some time to process this.

❻❻❻❻❻❻

"Jin hyung I'm going to leave you here okay? I have some tasks to do. You take some rest, you need it." Hoseok said, while sitting Jin down on his little desk in Medbay. He looked at Jin one last time, before leaving the room.

Jin sat in silence in his seat. His mind was still weird and hazy. He had too many memories and too many thoughts going through his head, layers and layers of images and voices and feelings he had felt at some point all muffled by a weird white cloud. His brain couldn't process any of it. The past and the present melted into each other and Jin was finding it very hard to have active thoughts. So he sat in the chair, letting himself get drowned in the chaos in his mind.

His fingers were splayed across his desk and a photo frame was just in his reach. Something in his brain said _hold it._ So he did. He gripped the picture in his hand, still looking into the distance and not the picture. Eventually his eyes found their way to the photo, albeit unfocused. 

His muddled thoughts cleared for a bit as his brain allowed him to look at the picture. It was him and Jungkook. They were both laughing at a joke Jin had cracked. The way his mouth was open wide, mid-laugh, and the way his nose was scrunched up, it made tears spring to Jin's eyes. He didn't feel sad though. He wasn't capable of that yet. So emotionless tears flowed down his eyes as a automatic response and he ran his hand over the picture. His mind was getting hazy again but before he drowned in his hurricane of thoughts again his brain urged him to do one thing.

_Go to him._

**Author's Note:**

> obviously this isn't finished. the next chapter will be up by monday :333


End file.
